Do you know how people see you when they meet you? Are you serious and thorough, fun and quirky, practical and down-to-earth? If you’re in business your company will have a personality too – and, if you’ve grown it from scratch, it’s probably a close reflection of you.
Why is this important?
Simply because if someone meets you and then visits your website, they are expecting to feel like there’s a match. If you’re a bit off-the-wall and your website is ultra-conservative and formal, there will be a disconnect. If you’re a practical, process-driven person and your website is very creative and highly visual your visitor is likely to feel uncomfortable. Uncomfortable people usually go away – and most don’t bother to return.
This is where the cleft stick appears! Here are the facts:
- If you’ve written your own website it’s more likely to reflect your personality and style.
- If you’ve written your own website it may not be very reader-focused as most people find it very difficult to remain objective when they’re writing about something they’re passionate about.
“Aha!” I hear you cry, “Then the answer is to get someone else to write it.”
Yes, that could be a really good idea – or a really bad idea. I did mention the cleft stick, didn’t I?
As a professional copywriter, of course I think it’s a good idea to get your website (and all your other marketing material) written professionally. It does make a big difference if you have a professional on board. Here comes the ‘BUT’ – if the copywriter doesn’t match your style you’re going to run into problems.
So what’s the answer?
Check out your copywriter first. What have they written for other clients? Find out if they’ve done anything for anyone you know and see if it matches the site-owner’s style. Ask them how they address the style issue – they should be able to explain how they manage this challenge.
Don’t work with a copywriter that doesn’t satisfy you that they ‘get’ who you are and what your company stands for. When you find one that does – hang on to them – they’re worth their weight in gold!
———————————————————–
Visit the Treasure Chest for lots of downloadable documents that will help you to market yourself better.
